`PM weak head of state, taking cover in coalition dharma`

Charging Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh with having "silently watched" the 2G spectrum scam, AIADMK chief Jayalalithaa Monday said he was a "weak-kneed head of state taking cover under coalition dharma."

Chennai: Charging Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh with having "silently watched" the 2G spectrum scam, AIADMK chief Jayalalithaa Monday said he was a "weak-kneed head
of state taking cover under coalition dharma."

Describing Singh`s recent interaction with the electronic
media as a "wretched exercise" and a "damp squib", she said,
"He (PM) was at his helpless best, taking cover for all the
ills plaguing the nation, using the fragile shield of
coalition dharma."

She said in a hard-hitting statement that the Prime
Minister repeatedly kept blaming "compromises" imposed by
"coalition dharma" for most of his government`s failings.

On appointment of Raja as Telecom Minister in UPA-2,
despite being under the scanner over the spectrum scam, Singh
had said it was not his choice, but imposed by a coalition
partner, the AIADMK leader said.

Pointing out that the Constitution has vested in the Prime
Minister the power to choose his Council of Ministers, she
said it is perfectly all right for him to consult his party
chief and even his alliance partners on specifics.

"But to admit in a media briefing that he had no role in selecting a particular cabinet minister and to claim that his hand was forced virtually amounts to admission of total disregard for the Constitution," she said.
She also said that on being questioned about his "silence"
on adopting a first-come-first-served policy for allotting
spectrum, Singh said he had written to Raja about his
concerns, to which he had replied that it would be
transparent.

"Based on this assurance, the Prime Minister had silently
watched as the nation was subjected to a Rs 1.76 lakh crore
loss. An economist of repute, Dr Manmohan Singh certainly
cannot say he was unaware about the loss. He should have
stepped in and stemmed the rot. But in the interests of a
nebulous factor called `coalition dharma`, he remained silent.
This is the sad reality confronting India today.
"We have a Prime Minister, who not only has no control
over his Council of Ministers, but also cannot step in even
when he sees things going out of hand," she charged.

She said the Prime Minister Singh had "no satisfactory
answers" to queries on ISRO`s allocation of S-Band spectrum,
the CWG scam and Adarsh Housing Society scam, "none of which
involved the tenuous issue of coalition dharma."